Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release — 2020-05-15

The number of total separations increased by 8.9 million to a series high of 14.5 million in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Within separations, the quits rate fell to 1.8 percent and the layoffs and discharges rate increased to 7.5 percent. Job openings decreased to 6.2 million on the last business day of March. Over the month, hires declined to 5.2 million. The changes in these measures reflect the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector, by industry, and by four geographic regions. In March, the number and rate of hires decreased to 5.2 million (-658,000) and 3.4 percent, respectively. The hires level decreased for total private (-654,000) and was little changed for government.